Valentin Hertzfeld

Valentin Hertzfeld (17 April 1914-25 July 1943) was a Stabsfeldwebel (Master Sergeant) of the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Biography
Valentin Hertzfeld was born on 17 April 1914 in Frankfurt, Germany. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 and served in the invasion of Poland and later the invasion of France. On reserve duty from 1940 to 1943, he commanded a squad of fallschirmjaegers that was stationed in Sicily under the command of Albert Kesselring. On 25 July 1943, he fought against the US Army at the Battle of Gratteri, and he led his squad in a failed assault across farmland against the American-held western roads of Gratteri. He was killed while leading his men in a charge, and he was posthumously awarded the Iron Cross for his bravery.